These days I’m spending most of my time as a morning host on WOR Radio 710 in New York. It’s “Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning.” It’s not a sports show. It’s an entertaining discussion of the top stories of the day. If you’re not in the New York area, or don’t really listen to radio on a real radio, you have a couple of options. You can listen live at WOR710.com or download the free iHeart Radio app.

To reach me directly click the “Contact Len” tab or if you wish you can click to my Twitter and Facebook pages. And feel free to check out my books, most of which have been written for young readers.

I began the Top 5 in August of 2008 when the Beijing Olympics got underway. What started with a handful of family and friends blossomed into a daily email sent to thousands around the world. It has truly been a labor of love. And now I’m happy to announce I’m embarking on a new challenge. Starting next Monday January 26th I’ll be the morning co-host on the legendary New York radio station WOR. It won’t be a sports show. We’ll be discussing all the issues of the day. But I’ll continue to muse about sports on the web, it just won’t be in the form of a daily Top 5 email. Instead, I’ll transition you to the About.com newsletter. You’ll receive notifications when my articles have been posted.I’m going to miss the daily interaction even with those of you who disagreed or relished finding a factual or grammatical error. If you miss venting you can always reach me at my regular email address. And if you’re not in the New York market you can catch my new radio show at the WOR web site.So thanks to one and all, it’s been a lot of fun. And hopefully we’ll stay in touch.

* Shoot! Jack Taylor of Division III Grinnell College in Iowa scored an NCAA-record 138 points in their 179-104 win over Faith Baptist Bible. And he missed 56 shots! He was 52 of 108 from the field. Watching the video, you won’t be surprised to learn he had zero assists.

2. A Fan to the End

81-year old Loren Lickteig died last week. This is how his obituary began in the local paper.” Loren G. “Sam” Lickteig passed away on Nov. 14, 2012 of complications from MS and heartbreaking disappointment caused by the Kansas City Chiefs football team.” Hang in there Jets fans

3. Political Football

With Fox buying part of the YES Network, fueling speculation that Fox might eventually buy the Yankees, Top 5 subscriber S. B. wrote, “I guess if Fox buys the Yankees, the right fielder will become the star.” Actually, when I was a guest on Hannity, I told the host on the air that if he were a baseball manager, he wouldn’t have a left fielder. A “fair and balanced” baseball lineup.

4. Holiday eMailbag
From Top 5 subscriber A.S. “While reading the stories about Buster Posey’s MVP, I’m struck by the lack of coverage talking about his comeback from the catastrophic injury he suffered such a short time ago. His accomplishment speaks to a determination, resilience and competitive nature that is really to be admired along with the great numbers he achieved this season.”
J.G. asked a good question. “Since there hasn’t been a NY Met that has won an NL MVP, are the Mets the only team that hasn’t had a regular season MVP?”
Editor’s Note: Five teams are MVP-less. Arizona, Miami, the Mets, Tampa Bay, and Washington.In regards to the Lakers erecting a statue of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar H.K. writes, “Oh, I see what the Lakers are doing. They take players and honor them as statues. The Cavaliers take statues and honor them as players”

When I tweeted @LenBermanSports, “Just curious what Tim Tebow does for the Jets offense other than disturb Mark Sanchez’s rhythm and help kill drives?” R.A. tweeted back, “He lets teams know the Jets are getting ready to try a fake punt!”

And when I wrote about business in an Edmonton sex shop booming during the NHL lockout, D.L. wrote, “Adds new meaning to STICK HANDLING, no?” And from R.B. “Gives new meaning to the term ‘blue line.'”

5. Spanning the World

This week’s Spanning the World highlight is a new world record. A Japanese man set the record for sprinting 100 meters on all fours. If you want to challenge the record you’ll have to beat 17.47 seconds. But you can earn yourself a spiffy new nickname. Kenichi Ito is known as “Monkey-Man.”

Spanning the World airs monthly on NBC’s Today Show. Next up, Friday November 30th in the 8:30am half hour.

Today in Sports: Remember hockey? The New York Rangers tie the record for most goals scored in the third period of a game, 8. The Rangers beat the California Golden Seals, remember them? 12-1. 1971.

Bonus Event: You can finally drive to Staten Island from here. The world’s longest suspension bridge (at the time), the Verrazano Bridge, is opened. 1964.

Looking for a holiday gift for that young sports fan in your life? If you’d like to purchase a personally autographed copy of my new book The Greatest Moments in Sports: Upsets and Underdogs, please contact the Dolphin Bookshop in Port Washington, New York at (516) 767-2650.

* With the Fox News Corporation buying 49% of the YES Network, it leads some to speculate that Fox will eventually buy the Yankees.

* Bye-bye it like Beckham. 37-year old David Beckham is leaving the L.A. Galaxy after 6 seasons (my how time flies). He isn’t retiring.

2. Cloak and Dagger

What, the Patriots were playing by their own rules? Can’t be. When Rob Gronkowski left Sunday’s game with a broken arm there was no information given out by the Patriots. That’s in direct violation of the N.F.L.’s media policy. Of course getting any information from Bill Belichick and company under ordinary circumstances is like pulling teeth. Need I bring up Spygate? Why the Patriots had their first team in the game going for still more points against the Colts in a blowout is a whole separate issue. Or is it?

3. Geographically and Mathematically Impaired

This email came yesterday from Top 5 subscriber Adam S. “I am sure you will touch on this tomorrow. With Maryland and looking like Rutgers joining the Big Ten, now we have the Big Ten with 14, the Big 12 with 10, San Diego St. in the Big East, Butler and Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10, and of course NJIT in the Great West (with FIVE teams!)…not to mention Winnipeg is still in the Southeast Division if the NHL ever gets its act together!

Thanks Adam. I love it when my subscribers write my stories for me. Now the rest of you, get on the stick!

4. Name Game

The Philadelphia Phillies double-A team is changing its name from the Reading Phillies to the Fightin Phils, Coupla questions. Shouldn’t they be the Phightin Phils? And isn’t this just the beginning? How about the Maulin Mets, the Shufflin Cards or the Collapsin Cubs?

5. If You’re Scoring at Home

So I guess the choice in Edmonton is hockey or sex. Thanks to the NHL lockout, one boutique owner says sales of sex toys and lingerie are up 15%. The owner of Hush Lingerie and More (the kinky version of Bed Bath and Beyond) says without hockey, guys have more time on their hands so they turn to you know what. Makes sense. Just like hockey, you need an assist to score….most of the time. There are instances of unassisted scores.

Today in Sports: 50 years ago today, my hero, Mickey Mantle won his third and final MVP award. 1962.

Bonus Event: Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released. 1985.

It’s not too early to buy a holiday gift for that young sports fan in you life. If you’d like to purchase a personally autographed copy of my new book The Greatest Moments in Sports: Upsets and Underdogs, please contact the Dolphin Bookshop in Port Washington, New York at (516) 767-2650.

1. Quick Hits

* New England crushed Indianapolis yesterday 59-24 but tight end Rob Gronkowski broke his arm.
* #1 and #2 in college football, Kansas State and Oregon, both bit the dust. So Notre Dame and Alabama are 1-2 in the BCS Standings.
* Maryland and Rutgers could be the next schools to exit their conferences and head to the Big Ten making it the Big Fourteen.
* NHL talks resume today.
* Brad Keselowski captured the NASCAR driving championship.

2. Going to the Polls

Can the college football playoff come fast enough? A 4-team championship begins in 2014 but this year will certainly leave lots of schools howling. With both Kansas State and Oregon losing, that leaves Notre Dame and Ohio State as the only major undefeated teams and Ohio State is ineligible for a bowl. So any number of teams with one loss will be clamoring to get into the championship game. But that’s the bowl system. Time was you needed a great record to play in a bowl game. My alma mater Syracuse is now eligible for a bowl thanks to its sterling 6-5 record.

3. The Melk Man

It will be fascinating to watch Melky Cabrera play for Toronto next season. Aside from the fact that the Blue Jays have loaded-up this off-season, which Cabrera will show up? The one who was an OK hitter or the Cabrera who suddenly became a .300 hitter the past two seasons? This year he was an All Star for the first time, winning MVP honors in the game. And he was fighting for the National League batting title before he got busted for testosterone. Credit the Giants for telling him to take a hike, even though his suspension ended in the post-season. They won the World Series without him. Will Cabrera be a real player next season in Toronto or just another asterisk?

4. Parity

The NFL owns the TV ratings in sports, and the good news for the NFL is it will only get better. We’re past the halfway mark of the season, and other than Cleveland, Jacksonville, Kansas City and Carolina everyone is basically alive. Well, the Eagles and Rams are on life support. Baseball added an extra wild card this season to add some excitement in September. MLB can only look in envy how the NFL has virtually everyone still in the mix. Now if baseball would go to a 16 game schedule……

5. Frozen in Time

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took his deserved place among the statues outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles Friday night. He joins Magic Johnson, Jerry West and announcer Chick Hearn who are immortalized, as well as Wayne Gretzky and boxer Oscar De La Hoya. I wonder if some day Lakers statues will rival the volume of Yankees retired numbers? Kobe will get a statue for sure, and lots of other deserve some consideration, among them Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal. Will it evolve into a sports stadium or a museum?

Bonus Event: Four score and blah, blah blah. Abe made a speech at Gettysburg. 1863.

It’s not too early to buy a holiday gift for that young sports fan in you life. If you’d like to purchase a personally autographed copy of my new book The Greatest Moments in Sports: Upsets and Underdogs, please contact the Dolphin Bookshop in Port Washington, New York at (516) 767-2650.

ABOUT ME

Len Berman is an Emmy-Award winning sportscaster and New York Times Best Selling Author who has covered just about every major sports event including multiple Super Bowls, World Series and Olympics during his 40-year career in broadcasting. [Read More …]